EPA adds Upper Columbia River site to national Superfund list | Health [Video]

A site along the Columbia River in northeast Washington is so contaminated with lead and arsenic, it’s not safe for people living and recreating there, especially children and women of childbearing age.

That’s why, decades after pollution began flowing down from a smelting facility in Canada, the EPA has added the site to the Superfund National Priorities List.

EPA made the announcement in a news release Friday.

It mentions sediment in the river is contaminated with metals including zinc, copper, cadmium, selenium, lead and mercury that pose a risk to fish, wildlife, birds and other organisms.

The EPA blames the contamination on the Teck Metals Ltd smelting facility 10 miles up the river in Trail, British Columbia. It also cites as a source the former Le Roi smelter in Northport.

The U.S. has been asking Canada to pay for damages related to the Teck facility since the 1930s.

The Confederate Tribes of the Colville Reservation petitioned the EPA to …